


Hatstall

by The_Black_Cat



Series: Vera sisters at Hogwarts [2]
Category: Charmed (TV 1998), Charmed (TV 2018), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen, Hogwarts Express, Hogwarts House Sorting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:41:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26216572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Black_Cat/pseuds/The_Black_Cat
Summary: The beginning of the new school year in Hogwarts always brought a new batch of students and the Sorting Ceremony. Mel couldn't wait.
Series: Vera sisters at Hogwarts [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1889026
Kudos: 1





	Hatstall

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there!
> 
> So, the last story was not as well-received as I had hoped, but I decided to stick with this idea anyway. Maybe it'll catch on, maybe it won't, I'm taking the chance. It's mostly an excuse to show how I see the different characters of the Charmed universe. Again, this is a bit of a character study, especially the part with the Sorting Hat. I would be happy to hear what you think about Mel's sorting. 
> 
> Hope you like it!

Mel was nervous. Her stomach was in knots, her hands shook and her throat felt like it was collapsing on itself. She clenched the handle to her trunk in one hand and her mom’s fingers in the other as she watched the people mingling in the steamed-up platform 9 3/4. There were people in funny-looking robes of all colours, there were people dressed like Mel and her family—in jeans and light jackets to combat the London breeze. It was noisy, people talking over each other, owls hooting, cats meowing, children laughing and crying, old friends meeting again after two months of summer break. Mel wondered if she’d get to be like that in a year, too. If she’d make friends at Hogwarts, someone to spend her time with.

She wondered if her sister was there. Macy Vaughn, that was her name, but Mel didn’t know much about her other than that she was four years older and should be in her fifth year at Hogwarts now. She didn’t know what her sister looked like, what she was like. A part of Mel wanted to know, desperately so. She wanted to know who this mysterious sister of hers was. She wanted someone other than her mother to blame for her dad leaving.

The loud whistle of the red locomotive that carried the name _Hogwarts Express_ sounded through the platform. It seemed that at that single sound, every person on the platform started rushing towards the train. There were well-wishes and reprimands and warnings from parents, promises made by the students and the general noise level got even higher.

“You should go, Melly, or you won’t find a place to sit,” Marisol said softly. Mel only squeezed her hand tighter. “Now, I know its all new and scary—”

“I’m not scared!” Mel protested with a furious frown.

“Of course you’re not,” her mom agreed easily. “Now go. You’ll have Belthazor and Kit to keep you company until you find some friends. Promise you’ll write.”

“Will Kit even fly that far?”

“Don’t worry, he’ll be fine. And you will, too.”

Mel nodded. She will be fine, and not just because her mom said so. She’ll be fine. She was doing it for herself, but she was also paving a path for Maggie. That was a big responsibility, she knew. As Maggie’s big sister, she needed to make sure that the school and everything associated with it wouldn’t ever be scary for her little sister. Maggie should have a reason to look forward to this school and magic and this whole new part of their lives. She wasn’t old enough to understand the price they had to pay for it. Then again, if Mel had any say in it, Maggie would never see their dad leaving them as a price for magic. It was in their blood, it was who they were.

“Bye, mom. Bye, Maggie. I’ll be home for Christmas,” Mel promised. She hugged her mom, then she wrapped her hands tightly around her sister. “Be good. And if anyone gives you any trouble, write me a letter, yeah? I’ll put a curse on them.”

“Melly, that’s not something you should ever do,” Marisol reprimanded. Mel nodded, but she sent her little sister a conspiratory wink. Maggie giggled at that.

“Be careful,” the littlest of the Veras chirped. “And send me loads of letters, okay?”

“I’ll send one every week.”

With another hug, Mel grasped at her trunk and the rucksack and departed from her family and boarded the train. Her knees were still weak and her throat still clenched uncomfortably. She walked the carts slowly, peeking into every compartment. There were people already there, sitting in groups anywhere from three to ten people. Mel wondered for a moment how could ten people squeeze into a compartment for six, but she didn’t dwell on it. She needed to find herself a seat.

Belthazor nudged her head gently, then he jumped down from her shoulders, meowed and looked pointedly to a compartment a few feet away. Mel followed the black cat into the open door of an empty compartment. She let out a breath and threw herself into the plush seats. “Thank, Bel.”

The cat murmured, in displeasure at the nickname, Mel supposed, then he quickly claimed one of the empty seats. Mel watched as he curled up there and placed his head down onto his paws. She then looked out of the window. She could see the platform, but not her mother or sister. She let out another sigh.

The train jerked a little. They were moving. She was officially on her way to this Scottish magical school and there was no turning back. It was okay, she told herself. It was fine. She would go there, she would be sorted into one of the houses and she would be the best witch in her year, maybe in the whole school. She would learn and she would make friends and she would make sure everyone knew the Vera name so that when her sister came to Hogwarts, people wouldn’t even dare to bully her.

The door to her compartment opened and a tall, east-Asian girl poked her head in. It was a pretty head, Mel though, with pretty dark-brown hair that reached her shoulders.

“Hey,” the girl smiled. “Sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if me and my friends could sit here with you? Everywhere else is taken.”

“Sure, go ahead,” Mel nodded, remembering her mother’s insistence that she be polite and nice to people. Not that Mel wasn’t nice, she just tended to speak before she thought.

The girl smiled again, a big, pretty smile, and she walked in with another girl and a boy in her tow. They were both a few years older than Mel, maybe thirteen or fourteen. It was cool that older kids wanted to sit with her, Mel thought. Then again, they probably didn’t want to sit with her, they just didn’t have anywhere else to sit. With that though, Mel curled up in her seat and pulled her rucksack close to take out her copy of _Hogwarts: A History_. She’d read the book already, she’d read all of her school books since she’d gotten them, but she liked this one. She liked reading about the castle and the houses and different people that came from the houses. She liked reading about Hermione Granger, the smartest witch of her age, who went to Gryffindor and helped defeat Voldemort, the greatest threat to wizarding Britain in history. She liked reading about Minerva McGonagall, an immensely powerful witch, current headmistress of Hogwarts and also a Gryffindor graduate. She liked reading about Albus Dumbledore, the greatest wizard that ever lived according to most people, who had also been sorted to Gryffindor. Still, even with all of those people, and more, in the house of the Lion, Mel like Ravenclaw, too. Rowena Ravenclaw, one of the founders of Hogwarts, seemed like an intriguing lady and she liked the idea of being in the house of smart people.

“That’s a good book.”

Mel looked up. The pretty, east-Asian girl was looking at her with that pretty smile of hers.

“ _Hogwarts: A History._ It’s a really good book. One of my favourites.”

Mel nodded, unsure of how to respond.

“Sorry, for being so rude. I’m Niko. Niko Hamada. Third-year, Ravenclaw. These are my best friends, Greta and Trip.”

Mel gave a small smile to the three, nodding her head. “Mel Vera.”

“Nice to meet you,” Niko said, still smiling. The others smiled, too, but not as prettily as Niko. “It’s your first time at Hogwarts, right?”

“How did you know?”

“A hunch,” Niko shrugged. “You have nothing to worry about.”

“I’m not worried!” Mel objected before she could think.

“Okay,” Niko chuckled. “Even so. Hogwarts is amazing. And it’s never happened in all of its history that a student wasn’t sorted. So don’t worry. Hogwarts is loads of fun.”

“Yah, unless you get sorted into Slytherin,” Trip grinned. “They’re the worst. All evil witches and wizards came from Slytherin.”

Mel frowned. “That’s not true. There were dark and evil witches and wizards from all houses, except Hufflepuff. And there were good Slytherins, too. Severus Snape, for example. Or ex-Professor Slughorn. Some members of the Black family, some Malfoys, too. Not all Slytherins are evil and not all dark wizards come from Slytherin.”

“That’s true,” Niko agreed readily. “Greta is a Slytherin and she’s nice.”

The girl in question grinned. “Yeah, Trip just tends to ignore that.”

The rest of the train ride was spent talking. Mel enjoyed getting to know the three friends, especially Niko. She was interesting and she had a lot of things to say, and she was pretty. Mel hoped she’d be in Ravenclaw with her.

It was already dark out when the train stopped. Mel was already dressed in her robes—Niko advised her to change when the sun set—and following the stream of students out of the train. She thought back to her trunk and Kit in his cage, wondering how on earth would they get from the train and into the castle, but Niko had assured her that everything would be taken care of, and Mel chose to believe her.

“First years, over here! C’mon, don’t be shy! First years!”

Mel stopped when she got out of the train and saw who was calling them. It was a mountain of a man, towering over the students with a lantern in his hand. How the hell could a person be so…big?

“Go on, Mel. That’s Hagrid, he’s the gamekeeper and the Professor of Care of Magical Creatures. He’ll take you up to the school,” Niko explained before she nudged her gently.

“Aren’t you going?”

“No, that’s only for the first years. You’re in for a beautiful view. Enjoy it!” and with that, Niko let herself be dragged away by Greta and Trip and Mel was left alone in the evermoving sea of students.

Once all first years were huddled together around the large man, he started walking in the opposite direction of the other student. “A’right, follow me! Careful! Ya don’t wanna slip and break ye bones, now, do ya?”

The group slowly made their way from the platform, through a long, narrow path and towards a big lake that looked like glass under the night sky. Hagrid led them to a dock where small, wooden boats were already waiting for them. The boats looked like they would fall apart or get a leak any second, and Mel watched with growing worry how each and every one of those boats sunk lower and lower when her future classmates got on board. When it was her turn to get in, she looked to Hagrid, who was sitting comfortably in one of the boats. Well, if it could carry a mountain of a man like Hagrid was, then it certainly could carry four eleven-year-olds.

She got into the boat and promptly sat down. While she knew the boats wouldn’t sink, she didn’t like the unsure feeling the lack of balance brought with it.

The boats slid across the glass-like water almost without sound, and even the waves they created quickly disappeared. Mel watched the water, amazed at how strange it was and how beautifully the stars and moon reflected in the mirror-like surface. She was brought out of her amazement by the sounds of gasps and curses around her. when she lifted her head, she understood why. The castle was magnificent as it stood proudly over the lake. The outlines of the towers were visible in the light of the moon and the warm, orange light coming from the windows almost made it seem like there was a swarm of fireflies hovering over the water.

Hagrid helped them get out of the boats in the small boathouse under the castle. He made sure every one of them was okay, and Mel couldn’t help the smile that overtook her face when his happy, beetle-like eyes looked her over with concern.

Climbing the stairs from the boathouse and up to the castle left all of the first years panting, feet sore and sweat shining on their faces. “A’right, this is w’ere I’ll leave ya. Don’ worry, ya’ll do great,” Hagrid declared once they reached a small room where they could hear the chatter of other students from behind the closed door. He smiled at them all, a warm and supportive smile that was meant to put them at ease, then his beetle-like eyes shifted to look behind them. Mel followed that look, only to find Professor Halliwell walking towards them with a three-legged stool in one hand and what looked like an old hat in the other. “Professor! They’re all yours!”

“Thank you, Hagrid,” the woman said, the small smile on her face a wild contrast to the sharpness of her tone. She walked briskly in front of the students, her black-and-yellow robes flowing around her. “Hello and welcome to Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry! I am Piper Halliwell, professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts and the deputy headmistress. In a moment, the banquet to celebrate the beginning of the school year will begin. But before that, you will all be sorted into Houses. The sorting ceremony is very important! When you’re at Hogwarts, your House will act as your family. You will attend classes with those in your year and House, you will sleep in the House dormitories, you will spend your free time in the House common room. As long as you’re here, every one of your accomplishment will be awarded House points, and every rule-breaking will be punished by taking the points away. At the end of the year, the House with the most points will win the House cup. Each House has six prefects who are responsible for patrolling the school after curfew and making sure the members of their Houses follow the rules. Prefects can also award of take points. Each House also has a Head of the House. That is a teacher responsible for the House and the students in it. Those of you who will be sorted into Hufflepuff will be in my care. Now, the sorting ceremony will begin in a few moments. The whole school will see you out there, so I suggest you make yourselves as presentable as possible. I’ll come to collect you in a moment.”

Mel watched as the woman disappeared behind the heavy-looking door. There was a rustle as all of her future classmates tried to straighten their robes and comb their hair.

“Good evening!” came a booming voice from somewhere behind them. Mel turned around with a jump, as did most of the kids around her, to find a milky-white, semi-see-through person. Or rather ghost, Mel realised with a clenched throat. “Are you waiting for the sorting ceremony, hm? I hope to see you in Gryffindor! There is never enough of us courageous lions!”

“Don’t get into their heads, Sir Nicholas,” said a ghost lady in a pompous dress. “I know that these smart youngsters will be, in fact, in Ravenclaw. There is intelligence and originality in each and every one of them, trust me.”

“Well, as long as they help beat Slytherin in gaining the House Cup again…” sir Nicholas sighed. He then offered his hand to the ghost lady who took it with a slight bow of her head. “Don’t you worry, young ones, Hogwarts is open to all, regardless of which House they are in. Study hard, make friends and make this school proud!”

Just as the ghost left through the very solid-looking stone wall, the door to the chamber opened again and Professor Halliwell walked in. She looked them over silently, then she nodded. “The sorting ceremony is about to begin. Follow me!”

Follow they did, out of the room, back into the entrance hall and through large, double doors. The room they found themselves in was huge, divided by a couple of stairs into two parts. In the larger part, there were four, long tables with students of varying shapes, sizes and colours sat and stared at the first-years, while in the smaller, elevated part, there was only one long table behind which sat older, funnily-dressed people. Teachers, Mel thought as she looked them over. There were candles hovering in the air and it looked like there was no ceiling, just the night sky. Thanks to _Hogwarts: A History,_ Mel knew that the ceiling was there, it was merely enchanted, but it didn’t take away from the effect it had on her.

They stopped in a huddled-up group under the small flight of stairs. In between them and the teachers’ table, there was the small, three-legged stool Professor Halliwell had been carrying earlier, together with that old, pointy hat.

The room fell silent. Everyone, it seemed, not just the first-years were full of excitement and expectation.

And then the hat moved. And started singing. It was a rather funny song, made more prominent by the rest of the students joining in and making all kinds of noises that were definitely not singing, but Mel knew it held a deep meaning. After the hat was done, a round of applause thundered through the room, only quieting down when Professor Halliwell walked up to the hat with a roll of parchment in her hands.

“First years, I will now read your names and you will come here and put on the Sorting Hat. It will decide which House you will be in. Adams, Emilia!”

One of the girls from the back of the group clawed her way through the people around her and ran up to the chair. The Sorting Hat fell over her eyes when Professor Halliwell put it on her head. It only took a few short moments for the Hat to open its mouth and yell out: “HUFFLEPUFF!”

The sorting followed in that fashion. There was Baily, David, who went to Hufflepuff as well, Barnes, Susanne, who went to Ravenclaw, Brown, Carter, who was sorted into Gryffindor, Carter, Olivia, who went to Slytherin, Chase, Jordan, who went to Hufflepuff. There was Marco Diaz, Peter Drayton, Elizabeth Evans… Mel didn’t remember all of the names. She didn’t even remember which House had the most people. She was too busy thinking about which House she’d be in. Ravenclaw, she thought, was a very suitable option. She loved learning and she would like having people of similar interest around her. Yeah, that would be nice.

“Jameson-Caine, Abigael!” Professor Halliwell called out. A girl stepped out of the thinning group of students and Mel’s eyes widened. She recognized that straight posture, those aristocratic features, that button nose. It was the girl she’d met at Ollivanders!

The girl carried herself with the same regal aloofness as she had that day. She looked like she couldn’t care less about what some old hat thought of her as she sat down onto the stool. And she sat there. And sat. Up until now, the sorting was rather quick, most of the students were sorted in under one minute. But Abigael Jameson-Caine sat there for two minutes. Three. Until finally, the hat decided on “SLYTHERIN”. The girl walked away from the stool with that same regal aloofness, but Mel couldn’t shake the feeling that something about this decision was bothering her.

She couldn’t dwell on it, as another name was called, and then another. There was William Pearce, who went into Hufflepuff, Amy and Adam Powel, both of who went into Ravenclaw, Alva Reid, who was sorted into Gryffindor, Cameron Russo went into Slytherin, Jada Shields followed into the green and silver House after him and after a few more names…

“Vera, Melanie!”

Her throat clenched in on itself and her legs shook. She could already see herself stumbling over the stairs and falling on her ass in front of the whole school. She clenched her teeth. No, she wouldn’t make a fool of herself. She might not have the grace that Abigael Jameson-Caine possessed, of the ‘I don’t give a damn’ aura that Jada Shields had around her, but she was Mel Vera, and she was going to walk over there, get that hat on her head and make this sorting hers.

Professor Halliwell smiled at her when Mel walked over to the chair and sat down. It seemed like it took hours from that moment until the Sorting Hat was placed on her head. It fell down her forehead and stopped at her eyebrows. It was uncomfortable and quiet and made her feel smaller than she really was. She didn’t like it.

“Well…” a tiny voice whispered somewhere in her head, “…rather difficult, aren’t you? I see ambition worthy of Slytherin, yes, you want to prove yourself, and you want to change the world... But you’re too selfless for a Slytherin… Your loyalty and protectiveness are admirable and would make you a good Hufflepuff, but you’re too reckless, too proud, too angry… Ravenclaw would be a good fit, you’re smart, you think outside of the box and you want to learn, don’t you? Hmm, yes, Ravenclaw would be good for you. But you’re also courageous, and your recklessness would make you a good Gryffindor. Hmm… you’re a difficult one… Ravenclaw or Gryffindor, where should you go?”

The Hat continued whispering in her ear for what felt like an eternity. At first, it was exciting, to listen to what the Hat had to say. But after a few moments, when it just kept going between her courage and drive to learn, she grew restless. What did it matter what House she was in? She would be at Hogwarts either way, and she would make the best of it, and herself, while there! She was there to learn, to make friends and to, hopefully, gain the skills to make this world a better place for her sister and for everyone else! It didn’t matter that much whether she’d do it with blue and bronze or red and gold as her House colours!

“Feisty, aren’t you?” the Hat whispered. “And impatient, too… hungry for opportunity… still, Slytherin would not be the House for you. You don’t have the Slytherin cunning, no. It’s either Ravenclaw or Gryffindor for you. But which one? Hmm…”

_Just choose one already!_ Mel thought, gripping the edges of the stool with her hands. _I’ve been here long enough!_

“Feisty indeed. Very well,” the Hat whispered. And then, in a booming voice, it announced: “GRYFFINDOR!”

_Thank you,_ Mel thought before she took the Hat off. Her knees shook considerably less as she made her way to the leftmost table, where the students in black robes smeared with red and gold applauded, whistled and yelled. They were noisy and rude and reminded her too much of the high-school boys at the football pitch she used to glare at home in Michigan. It made her heart clench. Those boys were nasty. But the Gryffindors were as far away from nasty as they could get, Mel realised when she got to the table and sat down. Everyone tried to shake her hand, threw their names at her, laughed and welcomed her with a warmth she had trouble understanding.

The sorting ended when Wu, Angela was sent to the Gryffindor table and received a welcome as warm as the one Mel got just moments prior. The air around them erupted into conversations and laughter. That was until an old-looking woman with sharp stood up from her spot. She walked around the table of teachers, her emerald robes and black, pointy hat with a tilted tip taking all the attention of the students. When she stopped at the centre of the elevation, where the stool had been just moments prior, all eyes were on her.

“I would like to welcome you all to the new school year at Hogwarts!” the woman said, her voice strong but strangely soft at the same time. “I hope you’re all hungry!”

“That was a bit disappointing,” Angela Wu remarked. “I expected a bit more from the start of a school year in a magical school.”

Mel nodded, frowning a little. She expected more, too.

“That’s headmistress McGonagall,” said one of the older students. “She doesn’t say much, but she’s a very powerful witch and a very strict one. Would you like some chicken?”

Mel frowned at the boy before she noticed that the table was now overflowing with different kinds of foods. There was chicken, pork, beef, vegetables and fruits, foods Mel didn’t even know existed. She recognised some from the trolley in Hogwarts Express, pumpkin pasties and cauldron cakes and pumpkin juice, and she recognised some Spanish and Mexican foods, too. The smells mixed together and created an aroma that had Mel’s mouth watering. Only then did she realise how hungry she actually was.

She was just making her way through herb-seasoned chicken and some potatoes when there was a light tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see a girl, a few years older than her, with a mane of wild, curly hair, in robes streaked with royal blue of Ravenclaw. Her dark skin shone in the orange light of the candles and her dark eyes were wide and uncertain. She had a nervous smile on her lips that appeared and disappeared again and again at a moment’s notice. She was tall, Mel noticed, even though she was bent over a little.

“H-hi,” the girl said nervously. “You’re Mel, right?”

Mel nodded. Her name sounded strange in the girl’s accent.

“Right. Yeah, I—I wanted to talk to you, and I couldn’t wait until tomorrow, I… I’m Macy Vaughn. I think I’m your sister.”

Sister. The word registered in Mel’s brain with a wave of anger she didn’t know how to handle. This girl was the reason her dad left.

“I have a sister,” Mel said coldly. “She’s home, in Michigan. And she won’t be here for another five years. So you can’t be her.”

The girl looked stunned. She straightened her back, blinked a few times, shook her head. “I’m sorry, I… I just… my dad told me that—”

“I don’t care,” Mel cut her off. “If you were my sister, then we wouldn’t have grown up apart. My dad left us because of you! Because mom lied to him about you! He left! Maggie is only six years old! It broke her! You broke my family! You’re not my sister.”

The girl’s eyes hardened. She nodded stiffly before marching back to her table. Mel turned to her plate; her appetite gone. She knew she had a sister here, but she didn’t think she’d have to deal with her. Definitely not right on the first day.

There was silence around the part of the Gryffindor table where she sat. Most of the students have gone suspiciously quiet, in fact. Mel didn’t care. She glared at her Housemates fiercely until they started their noisy, over-the-top conversations about something or another, and Mel started picking at her food. Sister. She already had a sister. She didn’t need another. Especially one that broke her family apart.

**Author's Note:**

> Well, that's all for now! I'll be back with another story, hopefully before school starts. Let me know what you think about the story, and about Mel's sorting, in the comments or come talk to me on my [Tumblr](https://justalittlewritingnerd.tumblr.com/)! I'd love to talk to you guys!
> 
> Hate you all, hoomans!


End file.
